In an electronic device, a thermal interface material (also referred to as a “TIM”) is a material (e.g., a grease or a putty) that is disposed between a heat generating component of an electronic device (e.g., a die, a memory component, an inductor, etc.) and a heat spreader in order to facilitate efficient heat transfer between the heat generating component and the heat spreader. The powering up or powering down of the electronic device may cause a relative motion between the heat generating component and the heat spreader, including in-plane motion and out-of-plane motion. This relative motion may cause the thermal interface material to squeeze out of the interface gap. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as “pump-out” of the thermal interface material and results in increased thermal resistance due to loss of material from the interface. Additionally, in the context of vertical TIM applications, another disadvantage associated with the use of grease/putty thermal interface materials is that such materials have a propensity to “creep” from the interface over time, which results in increased thermal resistance due to loss of material from the interface.